The first round of the NFL Draft was set to begin Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Central Time, and Alabama entered the night with two players in the building and one streak on the line. Offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor and quarterback Ty Simpson were both invited to attend in person, and if either one heard his name called, the Crimson Tide would push its run of first-round picks to 18 straight years.
Proctor, a three-year starter for Alabama, was widely expected to come off the board in the middle or late part of the opening round. Simpson’s path was less settled. For about six games last season, he looked like a player who might challenge for the No. 1 overall pick, but the rest of his year brought more ordinary results for several reasons, including health.
That left Alabama with two different kinds of first-round hope. Proctor had the cleaner draft case, the kind that had long pointed toward Thursday night. Simpson brought more volatility, but also more intrigue, especially in a class where teams were said to be short on functional quarterbacks and could be pushed to reach for one early. The same draft also featured a thin crop of quality offensive tackles, which only sharpened the appeal of players at Proctor’s position.
It was a fitting setup for a program that has made first-round night a regular event. Alabama had gone 17 straight years with at least one player selected in the opening round before Thursday, and the expectation around the Crimson Tide was that the streak would not end there. The draft itself was being carried on ABC, and NFL Network, putting both players under a national spotlight as the night opened.
Whether the pick came early with Proctor or later with Simpson, Alabama’s place in the first round looked secure before the first selection was even made. The bigger question was how high the Tide’s latest prospects would go once the waiting ended.
